About Alpacas

Two Huacaya Alpacas greet each other over the fence.

Alpacas make excellent small farm stock animals. The small size and docile nature of the alpacas make them perfect for families with young children. They are incredibly healthy animals, who easily live 15-20 years, eat very little, and require less land than usual (about 10 alpacas to an acre in Tennessee). Alpacas can be regal one moment and goofy the next, making them perfect for simply enjoying.

Suri alpacas are said to be the most rare, and valuable, farm animals on the planet. The Suri's fiber grows in long, lustrous locks that are known for their natural sheen and fineness. Their fiber is one of the most luxurious fibers available, and it comes in the largest variety of natural colors. Alpaca fiber does not contain any lanolin (as found in wool and Angora goat) which many people are allergic to.

History of the Alpaca

North America about 40 million years ago was home to camelids. Sometime around 3 million years ago these ancient camelids had spread into South America. Like many animals, camelids had all disappeared from North America by the end of the last Ice Age (~13,000 years ago). Two of the species are wild, the guanaco and the vicuña. About 5,000 years ago Andean Indians, in what is modern day Peru, captured and bred these wild camelids and created the domestic llama and alpaca. The llama derived from the guanaco and the alpaca from the vicuña.

The llama is the larger, better known cousin of the alpaca. The Andean Indians bred the llama from the wild guanaco to create a multi-purpose animal. They are much larger than any of the other South American Camelids (weighing in at 280-450 pounds). They are used for meat, pack animals, and fiber. While the fiber varies widely from animal to animal, and may not be as fine as the Alpaca's, it is still quite soft and warm. In ancient South America, commoners wore clothes made from llama cloth called aluascay.

The vicuña were once the sole property of the Incan royalty. The royal family wore clothing made from their extremely soft, warm fiber. The cloth was called cumbi, which is believed to mean 'exclusive' or 'special.' It was believed that they were the reincarnation of a beautiful maiden. She had received a coat of pure gold for consenting to the advances of an old, ugly king. Inca law prohibited anyone other than Inca royalty to wear vicuña. People would round up the animals once every 2-3 years in a process called chacu, so that their precious fiber could be collected. When the Spanish came into the region they killed off millions of the wild vicuñas - some believe it was because they worried the native animal would surpass their own sheep!

Today, the Peruvian government has once again protected these wild ancestors of the alpaca, bringing them back from the very edge of extinction. The Peruvian people still gather the animals in chacu for their occasional shearing. This helps keep them from being poached, and most of the profits go directly back to the local communities. Vicuña fiber currently markets for about $300 per kilo making it the most expensive animal fiber in the world.

Since the alpaca was domesticated from the vicuña their fiber is also extremely luxuriant. Inca royalty and nobles wore alpaca fiber cloth called gami. The alpaca was bred to be larger, but more docile. The larger size (150-180 pounds) allows the alpaca to produce more fiber, but they also have been bred over the years to grow the fiber faster. Most alpaca owners will shear their alpacas once a year for a yield of 1-4 pounds of prime fiber (the best from a particular animal) and an additional several pounds of still very useable 'second' quality fiber per animal depending on age, individual density, and fiber growth rate.

Llama and her cria at Machu Picchu in Peru.

Wild vicuña grazing.

Alpaca Genetics

Freshly shorn huacaya displaying a wide variety of colors.

Alpacas can come in two main varieties, the Suri (sur-ee) and the Huacaya (wa-Kai-ya). Sources vary widely on the percentage of Suri to Huacaya, but most suggest the Suri to make up only about 5-9% of the world's alpaca population. There are more American Bison that Suri alpacas! These varieties only really differ in hair type. If bred together, their offspring would still be capable of reproduction. Suri is commonly believed to be the dominant phenotype (appearance) of the gene. However, it is probably more complicated than that.

There is still controversy surrounding the issue of cross-breeding Suri and Huacaya. Since most of the originally imported Suris were white, many people cross-bred to introduce color back into the suris. Others did it to add luster, or some other quality, into their huacaya. Today, it is most common to treat them as separate breeds and avoid crossing. Occasionally, a Huacaya-type offspring will come from a suri-to-suri mating, or vice-versa. Other factors to consider are the natural variations in genetic expression. This can result in 'fluffy' Suris, or 'shiny Huacaya,' to name a couple of examples. Since they are being considered separate breeds at this time, it is appropriate to capitalize 'Suri' and 'Huacaya' but not 'alpaca - as you would with 'Poodle' or 'Doberman Pinscher' dogs.

Alpacas come in a wide variety of colors, ranging from a true black to true white. Grays and browns, with and without spots, and so on. Different countries and associations classify colors differently. In Peru, there are 52 natural colors classified, while the US only has 16. An alpaca's color is examined at the skin to avoid any sun fading, or other influences, from affecting the classification. White is the dominate color gene in alpacas. This, along with an industry preference for the easily dyed white, has made white the most common alpaca color in the world. Alpaca is the only fiber-producing animal that comes in a red-tinted brown color, often called 'Mahogany.' Color genetics are affected by many, many genes resulting in some pretty wild combinations, and making it difficult to predict what a mating might produce. In addition to this, many alpacas still breeding may not have lineage more than a few generations back due to importation. These animals may carry an unknown recessive gene (such as black) that goes unnoticed until one day, you get a surprise black cria! This is one of the most exciting aspects of breeding.